 Photo: Deb Ruthenberg
"I could just tell by the look in their eyes that they were ready to play," said Christian whose squad went out and thoroughly dominated their crosstown rivals, defeating Akron 74-55 Saturday night at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland before a crowd of 12,942 as Kent State claimed its second Mid-American Conference Tournament title in three years.
The victory also secured the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament but the Flashes will have to wait until Sunday afternoon to find out who their opponent will be in the upcoming NCAA Tournament, More importantly however, the Golden Flashes took matters into their own hands by winning and claiming the automatic bid rather than putting their fate in the hands of the selection committee had they lost.
"We did not want to leave it in the hands of anyone else," said Kent State senior forward Mike Scott after the game. "We know the MAC hasn't been lucky at getting at large bids." Scott, who was named the player of the game following a 14-point, 13-rebound effort, clearly knows his college basketball history. The MAC has not received an at-large bid to the Big Dance since 1999.
The Golden Flashes (28-6) had likely already secured a spot in the NCAA Tournament prior to the MAC championship game after clinching the regular season MAC title and on the strength of an RPI ranking of 24. But if there was ever any doubt as to who the top team in the MAC was this past season, the Golden Flashes quickly erased any such misgivings.
 After the teams traded jabs throughout the first ten minutes of the opening half, Kent State delivered what would prove to be the knockout blow by going on a 16-1 run to close out the first half, entering the halftime locker room with a 33-20 lead.
Akron proved to be its own worst enemy in the first half as the Zips missed six out of nine free throw attempts, missed several uncontested lay-ups, were outrebounded 20-13 and shot a miserable 29.2% from the field in the opening half.
"We got the ball anywhere we wanted, but didn't make any plays," said Akron head coach Keith Dambrot afterward in assessing the Zips first half struggles. "We got the ball inside just as we wanted to but didn't do anything with it."
The Zips' struggles continued into the second half while Kent State kept its collective foot on the throttle, never letting up and hitting 51% from the field while extending their lead to as many as twenty points.
 The Flashes were led by Tournament MVP Haminn Quaintance's game-high 16 point effort as four players registered double figures in scoring for Kent State.
The win was also Kent State's third win of the season over Akron. Kent State improved to 9-0 all-time as the number one seed in the MAC Tournament.
"Clearly they were the better team this season," said Dambrot. "We won 23 games, we just had trouble with Kent. They had our number this year."
Akron was paced by Jeremiah Wood's 13 points but the Zips starters were a combined 13-42 from the field while Wood also struggled from the free throw line, connecting on only 5-14 attempts from the charity stripe.
Dambrot however expects that the Zips will get a postseason bid. "I still think we are going to play another game. We're going to play somewhere. No one else in this league should make it but us. If the MAC is going to have a team in the NIT it has to be us." Akron finished the season with a 23-10 record but memories are still fresh from Akron's NIT snub from last season when the Zips sat home after a 26-7 campaign. "Hey what do I know? I thought we should have been there last year too," added Dambrot.
Meanwhile Kent State head coach Jim Christian is looking forward to the upcoming NCAA tournament with an experienced squad that knows the pressures of playing on a a large stage.
"Having guys who have been through this before really helps," noted Christian. "We are going into this thing not just happy to be there, but expecting to compete with a goal of winning."
It was a sentiment echoed by Mike Scott who stated afterward that the team had set several goals for itself but has one goal remaining. "We want to win a game in the NCAA tournament," said Scott. The Flashes did not win a game in their last appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2006 but won three games in the 2002 tournament on their way to a berth in the Elite Eight.
Winning is also a new experience for Tournament MVP Haminn Quaintance. "This is my first time winning anything," said the Kent State junior forward. "It's a different feeling, I've never won (anything)." Of course that has all changed for Quaintance who has now won a MAC title, claimed Defensive Player of the Year honors and was named MAC Tournament MVP.
It appears Quaintance may have to get used to that strange sensation. It's called winning and it can be quite contagious.
2008 MAC All-Tournament Team
Joe Reitz, Western Michigan
Jeremiah Wood, Akron
Al Fisher, Kent State
Mike Scott, Kent State
Haminn Quaintance, Kent State
MAC Tournament MVP: Haminn Quaintance
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